A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Monday, September 04, 2017

Relying on Miracles to Sustain the Unsustainbable

Typical look of a Kollel

The handwriting was on the wall. Now it is a sad reality as demonstrated in Rafi Goldmeier’s blog, Life in Israel. The idea of creating a society where
men do not work – and rely on the generosity of others to survive is how the current
Kollel system in Israel works.

This is a universal system. Meaning that all men
are encouraged to follow the path of
full time Torah study for as long as they can. In many (probably most) cases
they continue to do so well after they are married and have many children.
Families consisting of ten children or more are not uncommon. All of which are encouraged to do the same. Men are encouraged to
study Torah full time and women are encouraged to marry them as the ideal
mates. And then to help support them by
entering the workforce instead of their husbands.

As I have said many times, this kind of system cannot
survive. It is unsustainable. And as families grow exponentially with each generation
this becomes even clearer. Women are
asked to not only support their families, but to do so at lower pay than men doing comparable
work. While that is clearly unfair and even sexist, it is a
fact of life that cuts across all segments of society in the civilized world.

Women are also asked to
raise the children and do all the other household tasks expected of women. This is certainly true in the Charedi world. To
say this is an unfair burden is an understatement. Nonetheless, most of these
women are indoctrinated to do all of this willingly as a sacrifice enabling and even encouraging their husbands to continue their full time
Torah study without any distractions or interruptions. For which they will share with their husbands an eternal reward.

Obviously the income that these devoted Kollel wives provide
is no where near enough, Especially since some rabbinic leaders have discouraged them from seeking
the kind of higher education that would give them better jobs and more income.
Many of these women settle for jobs as religious school teachers for girls.

How do their large families survive? There are other
sources of income. Such as government stipends. But that is not universal and
in any case not enough of a supplement to sustain them. So they depend on
private sources.

In the past, (and in many cases still) parents and in-laws
provide a young couple with a stipend for a few years. But that is not
indefinite. And an unfair burden on parents that hoped to one day retire - but must now keep working to support their children. Not to mention the fact that these parents and in-laws usually
have more than one child they want to help out in this way.

While some parents
can afford to help (barely in many cases) others have to strain to do so, doing things like second mortgaging
their homes or cashing in their life insurance policies. Retirement becomes an elusive
dream as parents must work well past retirement age until they are physically unable to do so.

Another means of support is through the philanthropy of wealthy
Orthodox Jews who have bought into the
system.

As I’ve said many times, I don’t see this as a viable model. A system that
relies on so many intangibles and uncertainties while growing exponentially with
each successive generation cannot survive.

Charedim in Israel are beginning to realize this as they are leaving
Kollel in greater numbers and beginning to enter the workforce. Many of them seek the education
and training required to enable them to better support their families.

Most of
them are able to catch up to their non Charedi counterparts who have had the advantage
of getting a good secular education (of which they have none). Unfortunately many of
them can’t catch up, and therefore are relegated to dead end jobs that don’t pay much.

What about philanthropy? Is there not enough wealth among
Charedi Jews to help solve the problem? Are there not many multi millionaires
and even billionaires that can come up with the necessary funds to help sustain
them – and thereby enabling them to stay in Kollel longer?

I don’t know. But my
guess is that there aren’t anywhere near enough. But even if there are, there will not be a parallel exponential growth
of philanthropy dollars to exponential growth of the Charedi population itself. It is also an unfortunate fact of life that
some philanthropy dollars are sourced in legally questionable business enterprises.

Which brings me back to Rafi’s post. Therein he describes the financial
plight of one Kollel system that may be a harbinger for the future of other
Kollels:

The chain of kollels in Israel led by Rabbi Weissbord has
been in big trouble for a long time. They have not paid their avreichim for 10
months. Some kollels have closed, some avreichim have started to leave their
kollels for other places…

A week or so ago it was announced that Rav Shteinman helped
bail Weissbord out and helped find a donor to cover all his debt and pay the
avreichim what he owes. it was hailed in the Haredi media as a tremendous
salvation and a miracle. (emphasis added)

A source of Rafi’s involved with that Kollel reported the
following:

A day or two later they were told the money has been held up
in the USA on suspicion of money laundering. This guy wired all the money
(about $4,500,000) in one shot and it was stopped…

(He) also tells me that the kollel is still in trouble
because while this, even if the money ever gets released and comes through,
will cover the debts from the past, they have no idea how he will pay their
stipends in the coming months.

Ein Somchin Al HaNeis. Relying on miracles is not the way
Jews are supposed to lead their lives. That this ‘miracle’ is now under a cloud
– and will not even help sustain these
Avrecihim even if that cloud is removed is surely a demonstration of this
principle.

Unless and until the Charedi rabbinic leadership relents and
finally allows some form of preparation for the workplace to take place in
their schools (as most of the Charedi schools in America do)… and changes their attitude to a more favorable
one about working for a living, this problem will only get worse. Relying on
centenarian rabbis (no matter how great those rabbis are) to put in a good word
with God may be a legitimate means of seeking miraculous relief. Prayer certainly
helps. But it should certainly not be relied upon as a solution for the future.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.